The Wisdom-Goddess Star

2 Pallas is the most isolated colony in the International Martian Program, with no long-range communication relay connecting it back to Mars. When Martian journalist Alexander Irving arrives, he shortly discovers that Pallas’s isolation may be the intentional work of the local governor, and he endeavors to discover what exactly the governor wants to keep hidden from the rest of the IMP. More

Alexander Irving. First generation Martian, born to Patricia Irving and Peter Leung. Studied journalism at the newly founded University of Mars, a petri dish for “human journalism,” a new style of journalism to compete with AI reporters. Moved to Phobos upon graduation and joined the staff of The Light, the premier news organization of Mars’s largest satellite. Reported primarily on the working class of Phobos—technicians, repair crew, service workers—and always felt he was missing something. The grit of real journalism, investigative journalism, the kind which humans still do in the mud and shadows of Earth.

2 Pallas. Third most massive asteroid in the solar system, the newest acquisition of the International Martian Program. Its colonization is the first major IMP project to make use of the Per Aspera Ad Astra program, recruiting a thousand new members from working class, low income, secondary education backgrounds. Due to its highly eccentric orbit, Pallas only nears Mars once every 2 years—making it the most isolated colony in the IMP.

Pallas gives Irving the opportunity he’s looking for, to probe deep into a colony from which AI cannot harvest data, as the colony still lacks a long-range communications relay. When Irving arrives, he shortly discovers that Pallas’s isolation may be the intentional work of the local governor, and he endeavors to discover what exactly the governor wants to keep hidden from the rest of the IMP.

In addition to this novelette, this publication includes an afterword by the author, in which he discuss how a superintendent election, a dysfunctional novella, and a few English classes influenced the creation of the story.

Francis Bass currently lives in Philadelphia, though he is a native of Tallahassee, Florida, and not long ago he graduated from the University of Iowa. He writes plays, books, and short stories, which are mostly science fiction and fantasy. His work has been published in RECKONING, SOME SCRIPTS, and the Thespian Playworks 2014 anthology, among other places.